Sweetgrass

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***

Sheep, bless 'em, are all over the place in Sweetgrass, the new documentary by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash, which is all about herding, driving, birthing, shearing, protecting, feeding and otherwise caring for the woolly beasts. Hard to imagine that sheep could be so fascinating and charming to watch and listen to -- for awhile.

Fortunately, there are other points of interest in this somewhat (even at only 101 minutes) overlong film that may prove more intriguing to the anthropologically inclined than to the typical film buff. Along the way, however, there is some stunning photography (by Castaing-Taylor) with the occasional unforgettable shot; I may always remember what looks like thousands of sheep moseying down the center of a small-town main street.

The Art of the Steal

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

Though The Art Of the Steal gives lip-service to the city of Philadelphia and to the art mavens and corporate culture that -- according to the film -- have stolen the entire Barnes Collection away from its rightful owners and placed it in the hands of sleazebag "connoisseurs," its heart and mind are firmly with the original Barnes Foundation and Albert C. Barnes who began it. This is the man, after all, who managed to amass a collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern art that is now valued at more than 25 billion dollars.

Vincere

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

I first saw Vincere when it had its American premiere during last year's New York Film Festival, but the film -- directed and co-written (with Daniella Ceselli) by Marco Bellocchio -- is so smart, dark and telling that it easily rewards a second viewing. Marco Bellocchio's skills as a filmmaker have only grown as he has aged.

Bellocchio tells his version of Benito Mussolini (aka Il Duce) as combination black comedy, opera, history, horror, politics, and masochistic love story of the woman who fixated on Mr. M, married him and fathered his child. In that role you'll discover a very different side of popular Italian actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno (Ferzan Ozpetek's Facing Windows), who at times seems very nearly feral in this film, while getting yet another taste of the fellow who may well be the most talented, versatile and charismatic young actor in Italy, Filippo Timi (who starred in a different Ozpetek film, Saturn in Opposition.

A Town Called Panic

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ***½

The year 2009 was so filled with brilliant animated works that some writers declared it the "1939 of Animation." Most of them were computer-generated, and some were in 3D; several were beautifully hand-drawn, or used stop-motion. A Town Called Panic, from Belgium and France, has to be the most unusual of the buncht. Made with stop-motion, the characters look like little toy figures with great lumps of flat plastic glued to their legs to help them stand up.

Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 5

This has been quite a summer for film noir on DVD. In addition to the Columbia Noir set that just arrived, now Warner Home Video releases a new eight-film box set, featuring at least three long-awaited and essential classics. First up is Anthony Mann's Desperate (1947), which is the first of three "B" noirs Mann released over the course of one year. It was followed by Railroaded! and then his groundbreaking T-Men, upon which he collaborated with the great cinematographer John Alton and reached new heights in the use of darkness and shadow. While Desperate isn't quite at the same level, it does have Mann's sense of coiled violence, just waiting to unload. Continue reading "Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 5"

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ****

A fascinating theme emerges early on in Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith's Oscar-nominated documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers: that the same circular thinking and one-upsmanship games inevitably will overtake hyper-insulated circles once their belief system come under fire. Whether they be grassroots activist groups, major media companies, the Department of Defense or the White House -- the wheels come off with striking similarity and lead to some fantastic collapses.

Two Films by Yasujizo Ozu: The Only Son & There Was a Father

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ****½

It's hard to imagine a time when there were no Japanese movies playing in American cinemas but for obvious reasons there was a certain lack of Japanese film distribution in the states during WWII. The great director Yasujiro Ozu first became noticed here some years later, with Tokyo Story (1953), but with the help of The Criterion Collection's new release of two early Ozu films, The Only Son (1936) and There Was a Father (1942), it's clear that he was making great films of that ilk all along.

On one of the set's extras, film scholar David Bordwell proclaims Ozu his favorite filmmaker, and the culmination of all that is possible in cinema. Ozu started out as a fully-realized artist and proceeded with consistent, high-quality work throughout his career as evidenced by these two films, which look to have been restored as sharply as possible from some fairly sketchy, damaged film elements.

By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two

Reviewer: Jonathan Poritsky
Rating (out of 5): *****

"What's the experiment?" is a simple question I find myself asking constantly when watching experimental cinema. The term "experimental" has as of late become tainted, misused, even destroyed. Most festivals around the world now feature a section for experimental films, usually shorts, but their definition is cloudy at best, and when it comes down to it, they are generally populated with films that simply won't fit anywhere else. Which is why we have a responsibility to constantly, vigorously demand an answer to the simple question: "What's the experiment?" With the films of Stan Brakhage, you never have to ask, but that doesn't mean the answer is any clearer.

After a modicum of success with the comprehensive, albeit disjointed, two disc set of Brakhage's works in 2003, Criterion is back with a second helping of the avant-garde pioneer's films with By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume 2. The set is not only a brilliantly curated look at the career of a prolific filmmaker, but it is also a major milestone for the Criterion Collection itself. It is almost inherent in the nature of experimental cinema that it not be released on home video. More often than not, the experiment is finite, contained within a movie house or screening room, a public space or gallery. That is why Criterion's first crack at this, By Brakhage Vol. 1, felt more jarring, more a random assortment of his films, where the new set is carefully prepared, divided into 90 minute sessions. The coherency was probably aided by the team behind this set, which includes Brakhage's wife, Marilyn, as well as film historian Fred Camper.

Prodigal Sons

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ****½

In 2005, Kimberly Reed documented her first trip back to her hometown of Helena, Montana after moving away 20 years prior. The impetus is a high school reunion, but Reed's nervousness about returning to her small town roots goes beyond the typical teenage angst laid on top of mid-life anxieties. During the long separation, in the years since Reed graduated high school, she transitioned from male to female and has actively avoided seeing anyone from her "Paul" years.

Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 2

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ****

Out of all the movies under-represented on DVD, film noir likely makes up a huge chunk of them. Thankfully, Warner Home Video and Sony Pictures have been digging deep in their vaults and releasing a series of box sets. Coming up later this month, Warner unleashes Volume 5 in their series, while Sony releases the second edition of Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics. As with Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1 (2009), this new box kicks off with a Fritz Lang classic. Made on the heels of The Big Heat (1953) with the same cast, Human Desire (1954) never caught on in quite the same way, perhaps because its ending doesn't seem to carry the same kind of punch; it sort of winds down, rather than exploding.

The Crazies (2010)

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ***

In the frenzy to remake every horror movie in history, many classics have been butchered, and many lesser films have been proven to be not worth all the fuss. But one recent film seems to have chosen its inspiration well: George A. Romero's original 1973 The Crazies is not one of his better films, but it contains the nugget of a good idea, and has the George A. Romero brand name, but it's not a film that many people know or love, and had room for improvement. In short, it was ripe for a remake.